How VR Is Redefining Storytelling At A/D/O

Our new reality may be a virtual one. In the past few years, the technology behind virtual and augmented reality has exploded, prompting innovations in fields from gaming to real estate, theater to fine art, with companies as diverse as Samsung, Chairish, and Wayfair incorporating it in various ways. In the latest juxtaposition of VR and design, Brooklyn creative space A/D/O today announced that New Reality Co. will serve as its second artist-in-residence.

A/D/O, the Mini-backed collaborative creative space that opened last winter to much fanfare, has become a hotbed for design innovation, hosting panels and exhibitions celebrating envelope-pushing design and fostering communal creativity in its nARCHITECTS-designed space on Greenpoint's Norman Avenue (which includes a shop and a Claus Meyer and Fredrik Berselius restaurant). The appointment of New Reality Co. to succeed inaugural artist-in-residence Stephen Burks marks a look to the future.

Helmed by Winslow Porter and Milica Zec, New Reality Co. is a New York–based creative studio that uses mixed and augmented reality to explore perception. Its vision fits neatly with the theme of A/D/O's second season, Common Sense. During their tenure in Greenpoint, Porter and Zec will be creating Breathe, a multisensory, experiential story written by Luke Davies, screenwriter behind this year's Oscar-nominated Lion. The project is the final in a trilogy whose first two parts, Giant and Tree, landed New Reality Co. on Adweek’s Creative 100 list.

"Our goal is to inspire positive change through interdisciplinary and multisensory artistry," said Zec in a statement. "This residency will provide us with a vibrant and communal workspace, a home for Giant and Tree, and a network of artists and potential collaborators who understand and appreciate shared human experience." New Reality Co. plans to unveil Breathe in September of this year. We're waiting with bated breath.